The Federal Aviation Administration will be releasing a proposal for new federal rules for commercial drones that are expected to be bad news for drone enthusiasts and business owners alike, according to sources familiar with the rule-making process.
The drone industry has been waiting for the past six years for rules for commercial drones, hoping that the rules will lead to the widespread use of the machines for several industries, including construction, film production and farming.
The current policy for drones of the FAA allow for recreational flights in the United States, but bans drones from being used for commercial purposes.
The FAA is looking to allow [subscription required] commercial drone flights with the new rules. However, the rules turned out to be more restrictive than what drone supporters were seeking, and in addition did not address the privacy concerns that were stemming from the usage of drones.
Some of the new rules include limiting the flights of commercial drones only to daylight hours, with the maximum height of the flight of the drones at 400 feet and within the sight of the drone's operator.
In addition, operators of commercial drones are required to be certified manned aircraft pilots.
The FAA is planning to group all the drones that weigh below 55 pounds under just one set of rules. This would be a blow to hopes that there would be more relaxed rules for the smaller kinds of drones, including the Phantom line of drones by SZ DJI Technology that weigh only 2.8 pounds. This is especially significant, considering that most of the drones that are commercially viable about the same size as DJI's Phantom drones.
Supporters of small drones say that the machines pose less of a threat to people and structures compared to the bigger drones, such as the ScanEagle by Boeing that weighs 40 pounds with a wingspan of 10 feet and is powered by gasoline.
The pilot certifications that will likely be required by the FAA would require dozens of hours of operating manned aircraft, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The FAA is expected to make an official announcement on the proposed new rules by the end of the year, which will launch a period for public comments that will likely flood the FAA with comments from the drone industry.
The process of finalizing the rules could take one or two years.
Currently, the FAA allows operating commercial drones only with a case-to-case approval, with only a handful of companies receiving authorization from the agency so far.
